Bob Leslie's blog

Wow! That was a blast. This year was by far, the best weather for one of these in a long time. Although it rained on Friday, the course was well packed and fast on Saturday. It also stood up to all the tires and punishment from the race remained fast all weekend long.

Our first rider was Todd Dawson. He is new to mountain biking but runs and lifts regularly. Since he still has cartilage in both of his knees, we let him run. Since he is new, his equipment choices are a little off for biking. He was in Converse tennis shoes and running shorts and quickly moved up in the pack.

read the rest

My buddies Scott Tyree and Todd Dawson and I had a good training ride this weekend in the Kanawha State Forest near Charleston, W.Va. If you have not ridden there, you should give it a try. There are some great trails and primitive camping. Also, it is just outside of Charleston so there are conveniences nearby.

On to the ride: We rode a course which leads to a trail called "Wildcat Ridge Trail." There was almost 1000 feet of vertical climb in a little over 3 miles. At the trail head on the top of the ridge, we ran into a lady named Carrie or Terrie (I can't hear. Deaf as a stump.) who informed us that the hill we just rode was called "Heart Attack Hill." I get it. She rode the rest of the way with us. She was in awesome shape and rode things that kicked my hind-end. One of the great things about mountain biking is that I am yet to meet a stranger on the trail.

read the rest

Greetings everyone. I was recently chosen to be a participant/correspondent for YourMTB.com at the 24 Hours of Big Bear. This is my second Big Bear race having been in it last year and placing 2nd with my team, Axel Folly and the Mullets. No, I am not a professional MTB racer. The reason we placed second was there were only 2 teams in our division. I just don't tell alot of people that when I invoke my bragging rights. In reality, my team and I are in a 24 hour ride, everyone else is in a 24 hour race. We do not have delusions of grandeur. We know our limitations, yield the trail to faster riders and enjoy our time with the mountain bike tribe.

read the rest